Positive surge flow

Description

A positive surge results from a sudden change in flow that increases the depth. It is an abrupt wave front. The unsteady flow conditions may be solved as a quasi-steady flow situation (Chanson 2004). When the surge is of tidal origin it is usually termed a tidal bore. The difference of name does not mean a difference in principle. Hydraulic bores results from the upstream propagation of tides into estuaries and river mouths. The video shows a positive surge generation and its propagation upstream against the main flow in a 12 m long 0.5 m wide channel located in the Gordon McKay Hydraulics Laboratory of the University of Queensland.

This web site was launched by Prof. Michele Mossa of the Polytechnic University of Bari (Italy) with the initial support of Fondazione Caripuglia, Bari, Italy for the Research Project LIC-MON of 2003 and of the Project IMCA (Integrated Monitoring of Coastal Areas) financed by MIUR PON D.M. 593/00. Later, the initiative was supported with other Prof. Michele Mossa’s funds, most recently provided by the RITMARE Project.